It’s been expected for a while, but now it looks to be happening for sure. According to multiple reports, including from The Athletic, Aston Villa and Chelsea have reached an agreement for the transfer of Nicolas Jackson. The overall value of the deal is said to be £65m, breaking down into a flat fee of £47.5m with another £17.5m in bonuses and add-ons.
Jackson was at Bayern Munich last year, but after they chose not to turn that loan into a permanent transfer, the 25-year-old became strongly linked
with Villa. While there was some suggestion that he might win his place at Chelsea back after the appointment of Xabi Alonso, that never really looked likely in the end. The whole thing just dragged on for a while, presumably due to the 45-day cooling off period following Morgan Rogers’ transfer to Chelsea. Deals between two clubs within that period can be considered “swap” deals by UEFA for financial fair play accounting, and Villa were keen to avoid that. Villa, like Chelsea, are barely staying onside of UEFA’s accounting limits, and needed these transfers to be recognized at full value.
So, Jackson’s off to reunite with Unai Emery, who gave him his debut at Villarreal back in 2021. Good luck, Nico!
